Unbalanced Kisses
by AmaraSan
Summary: Amara was childhood friends with Yusuke and Keiko, but had to move suddenly when they were seven. She's back, but do she and Yusuke still share a crush? Has he moved on? Why did she even have to move in the first place? Find out in Unbalanced Kisses!
1. Out of the Past

There was a long, narrow hallway before her, and it seemed to go on forever. A girl of the age of 17 seemed to be under some sort of trance as she continues to walk endlessly, her feet making quiet slapping sounds as the movement of her feet pushes her along. She disappeared into darkness, emerging from a shadow somewhere further down the endless maze of halls. She looks from left to right as though in a daze, when the sudden touch of someone's warm arms around her waist causes her to gasp and snap out of the trance. She turns around slowly, as if floating, but she was unable to clearly see the face of the one holding her. Slowly, gently, they push her up against a wall, pressing their body against hers. Her face turns a light shade of crimson as they slowly begin kissing her neck, reaching down and gradually allowing their hand to slowly creep into her pajama top, unbuttoning it slowly. "No…stop…Don't…" She breathes, but they were too strong for her. Slowly, they lift their lips from her neck and bring them closer to her face. "Don't…Stop, Yu—"

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEE—She slaps her hand down on her noisy alarm clock, shutting it off. She groans quietly as she turns over to look out the window parallel to her bed, watching the sunshine groggily as it streams in dully from behind her curtains. "…" She looks slowly around her room, waking up very gradually as most teens did at this time of day. Her eyes slowly lower to her alarm clock and she stares at it for at least thirty seconds before shooting up into a sitting position and grabbing it to make sure she was seeing correctly: 7:45; school started in fifteen minutes. "OMIGOD—WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WAKE ME UP?" She yells, loud enough to wake just about anyone within a block no matter how deep their slumber. She _throws_ the alarm clock across the room, and then shoots into the bathroom, coming out less than a minute later, trying to brush her hair and teeth at the same time. Once her hair was completely brushed and shining, she throws her brush into the bathroom, causing it to crash through the curtain and into the shower. She throws her clothes on quickly, and then runs downstairs after spitting her toothbrush and toothpaste-remnants into the sink, and rinsing her mouth out with a small cup of water. She slides into the kitchen and drops into the closest chair. "I don't have much time left to eat. I'll grab some toast on the way." She explains as she then begins stuffing her mouth rather rabidly with the omelet made and placed before her. "All right." A pale young woman, perhaps in her late twenties to early thirties, gives a smile of understanding as she slowly fades into view from out of nowhere. "Maybe you should set your alarm for an earlier time." Chuckles a man of about the same age, who appeared in the room the same way as the woman. "No way! I stay up late studying as it is, and there is no way—AH! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" She cries as she grabs a piece of toast and runs for the door. "Wait!" The young woman calls, hurrying after her. She didn't even bother to use the door leading from the kitchen to the hallway…just went straight through the wall. "Don't forget your lunch, Amara." "Fanks, mrm." The young blonde, Amara, mumbles through the toast she held between her teeth as she rushes to pull on her shoes. "And you're shirt is backwards!" "Thank you!" She calls as she high-tails it out the front door, flipping her shirt around quickly but without revealing her bra as she takes a huge bite of toast. She could hear the six-minute bell off in the distance and she lets out a cry of alarm, running faster if it even seemed possible.

The blonde girl managed to reach the school gates shortly after the six-minute bell, panting and wiping the perspiration from her forehead. She lets out a sigh of relief, and then begins her walk across the school grounds and on into the building. She glances up at one of the windows as she passes under the shadow of one of the school's trees, catching a glimpse of a shorthaired brunette. She pauses and blinks; she could have sworn she just saw…

"Excuse me, young lady." Amara turns to see a rather chubby older gentleman, suit, balding head, and all. "Um…yes?" She holds her school bag casually over her shoulder with one arm and leaves her other arm hanging from her shoulder. "The bell's about to ring. Shouldn't you be in your class by—?" As if on cue, the one-minute bell rang. The seventeen year old jumps in alarm and spins on her heel, running for the building. "Gotta run! We can chat later, Mister!" She calls over her shoulder as she dashes for the school. As she disappears into the air-conditioned building, Mr. Takenaka, the school principal, lets out an exasperated sigh. "…Let's just hope we don't have another Urameshi our hands…" He murmurs to himself as he follows after her slowly into the building, heading for his office.

Amara skids to a stop outside her classroom, making it just in time for the final bell to cease it's ringing. She sighs once more with relief, looking up and down the empty hall to make sure no one had seen her. "Phew…" She sighs, before gripping her school bag firmly in her right hand while straightening her skirt with her left. "They really should make these things more comfortable…I think I'll see about getting my hands on the boys' uniforms." She grumbles to herself, and then straightens as she hears her new teacher announce the coming of a new classmate and then calls for her. "You can come in now, Ms. Youkohama." A young-looking man in a typical suit that most teachers would wear stood behind the desk facing her as she slid open the door, smiling in a good-humored manner. "Ms. Youkohama transferred here just a couple of weeks ago, right?" He gives her a smile as she approaches the middle of the front of the classroom and stops, and she nods. "Yeah." "…Um, ok, well…why don't you tell your new classmates a little about yourself." Once again slinging her bag casually over her shoulder, she gives another nod. "My name is Amara Youkohama, and I lived around here until about ten years ago when I suddenly had to move. I'm glad to be back in Sarayashiki, and I intend to show some of the punks that have gotten out of hand around here who's boss. I'll beat the living daylights out of anyone who tries to stop me." She pauses, allowing what she had just said to sink in. She had a dead-serious look on her face, and the class was absolutely silent. Amara suddenly allows a big, cheesy grin to tug her frown from her lips. "I'm just messing with you guys! Lighten up, geez!" She laughs, and a few students let out a nervous laugh while the brunette girl she had seen from outside before simply blinks, staring at her strangely. The blonde stops as her grin slowly fades, and she and the brunette stare at one another for a minute. "…Oh my…gosh!" Both girls exclaim in unison before Amara drops her bag and the brunette stands from her seat, both girls meeting where the front of the class and the desks met. "Keiko, it's been a while!" "Amara, how are you? I can't believe it's really you!" "I can't believe it's _you_! You're looking good!" "I could say the same to you!" Now it was everyone else's turn to stare. Finally, the class couldn't take it anymore, and it became difficult for the teacher to quiet them down again. Kids began either chitchatting with each other, or asking Keiko and Amara questions. "You guys really know one another?" "Keiko, do you really know this girl…?" Keiko's friends were the first ones to really ask, as they stared at Amara doubtfully. In their eyes, it seemed that poor Keiko had begun to hang out with the wrong crowd. 'First Yusuke Urameshi, and now this girl…' they thought together, watching the two old friends with nervous smiles and laughter. "So, new girl, have you found a boyfriend yet? I know some great places…" The boys, of course, had to "test the water before jumping in". "Uh, well, I…" "Where are you from? I mean, aside from here…" "Are you a country girl?" "Yeah right!" And so the conversations and questions continued, until finally the teacher had to break it up. "EVERYONE BACK TO YOUR SEATS! THE BELL RANG SEVERAL MINUTES AGO!" He bellowed suddenly through a makeshift megaphone, or rather, a packet he had rolled into a cone. All of the students quickly ceased conversing, and the class hushed once more. Slowly, the high schoolers made their way back to their desks and sat down in their chairs, then scooted comfortably into position while Amara went and got her bag. "Anyway…" She continues. "Can't wait to make some friends, study hard, and all that stuff." She bows politely to everyone, then gives them another cheesy grin and held up her pointer and middle fingers in a "Peace" sign before finding her seat setting her bag beside her chair. The blonde girl glances to her left and smiles softly to herself at the sight of having her seat right next to the windows. "Now," the teacher begins. "If everyone will take out their English books and open to page 14, we'll start our lesson. Ms. Yukimura, would you mind going first?" "Yes, sir." Keiko answers politely after opening her book, and stands from her seat to read aloud…

"Finally!" A dark haired boy the age of seventeen grunts to himself as he stretches his arms high into the air. The lunch bell had just rung and awoken him from his nap, and boy was he starved. He was wearing the correct uniform for once after much nagging from his friend Keiko, and bitching from Kazuma Kuwabara about how much of a delinquent he was being, even in high school. After a good bit of stretching and feeling the breeze blow through his hair, the young Mazuuku Spirit Detective leaps to his feet and gazes out over the school grounds. "Stupid school, stupid rules…stupid boring life." He grumbles to himself as he watches many of the school's students emerge from the building to enjoy their lunches outside. Turning away from the fence surrounding the roof, he looks over the empty roof he was used to occupying day after day after day, glancing over the small structure covering the staircase, and the door leading from said stairway. "Dumb. Keiko had better hurry up with whatever surprise she's got for me. And wait until she gets here to eat my lunch! I should never have agreed to hand it over!" He growls, kicking the fence a bit and causing it to rattle. He sighs and sits down on the rooftop, casually bending his knees slightly and resting his arms on them before rummaging through the pockets of his pants. Pulling out a few small cracker-like snacks and holding them in the palm of his left hand, he takes one between his thumb and pointer finger, balancing it on his thumbnail, then flips it into the air in order to catch it in his mouth. Just before it could land in his open mouth, he feels a fist come down on the back of his head and knock the rest of the crackers from his hand, and the one that he would have caught bounces off of his head and hits the ground. "OUCH! DAMN IT, what was that—?" The dark haired boy turns his head quickly in the direction of his attacker, glaring with annoyance at having just wasted his snack. A blonde girl, wearing the boys' uniform now, stood in front of Keiko, staring down at him with her left eyebrow perked slightly. "I thought I asked you to wait for us, Yusuke!" Keiko snaps, handing him his sack lunch. "You took too long!" He snaps back. "I thought you were going to come at the beginning of lunch with some surprise for me or something!" The blonde girl, Amara, rubs the back of her head and laughs. "Oh, yeah. That'd be my fault for making us late. I couldn't stand that skirt much longer!" She smiles down at him as the dark haired boy, Yusuke, stares at her in annoyance. "And who the Hell are you to think you can just sneak up on me and HIT ME like that?" He growls. Keiko clears her throat as she and Amara sit beside him, Amara on his left and Keiko behind her. "Yusuke," Keiko begins, as Amara takes out her lunch and Keiko begins to put Amara's hair into a braid. "You remember our friend from when we were kids right?" "No, which one? There were too many to count." Yusuke answers sarcastically. Keiko continues as though she never heard that. "You remember her then. She moved suddenly when we were seven." Yusuke blinks. "Oh, yeah…you mean Amara?" Keiko nods, and both girls smile. "Well." Amara chimes in. "I'm back!" Yusuke blinks as what she said takes a moment to register. When it finally clicked, his eyes widened and he got a big, goofy grin on his face, pointing at her in disbelief. "No way! It's really you? Where the Hell have you been?" Amara laughs and Keiko smiles as she finishes braiding Amara's hair, and they all begin eating their lunches. "Well…I've been in Japan this whole time, but because of…eh…business, my family and I had to move suddenly. Sorry I never said good-bye. Believe me, I wanted to…" Keiko smiles and nods in understanding. "Well, that's ok! You're back now, safe and sound!" Amara smiles a little, then her gaze falters and she quickly glances from her lunch back to their faces. "Yeah!" She says with a cheerful smile. She and Keiko smile and nod at each other, then begin chatting and catching up on what had gone on during Amara's ten-year absence. Yusuke was the only one not speaking, for as they spoke he was studying Amara silently. Keiko hadn't seen it, but Yusuke had noticed when Amara's cheerful exterior gave way for an instant. Several minutes later, Keiko volunteered to throw away their trash, and Amara thanked her and smiled, turning to Yusuke once she had gone inside. "So, how are things with you two? You seem to be getting along pretty well." The young blonde girl grins and nudges Yusuke's arm with her elbow, winking at him. She stops and blinks when he continued to watch her and didn't smile. "…Yusuke? What is it?" She cocks her head slightly to one side in a questioning manner, as he looks at her seriously. "Amara, why did you really leave? What was the 'business'—?" He was interrupted as the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. She hadn't heard his question, so the fair-haired girl stands as soon as she hears it. "Rats. Back to class then…Let's meet after school, ok? I want to see the arcade Keiko says you're so crazy about." He begins to respond, but she waves and was gone before he could say a word. Sighing in exasperation, Yusuke leans against the wall again, closing his eyes in order to nap until school was out for the day…


	2. Childish Memories

"Wake…UP!" Yusuke was rudely awoken by a sudden shouting in his ear, causing him to tumble over and land in a comical mess a couple of feet from where he had been napping comfortably moments ago. "Do you really need to be so loud all the time?" Yusuke snaps, and then blinks, having thought it was someone else who woke him. "Oh, hey Amara…I thought you were Kuwa…uh, someone else." The blonde was balancing on her toes in front of him, her knees bent and her arms between her legs in typical "delinquent position", directly in Yusuke's formerly sleeping face. "Someone more annoying than me?" She asks innocently, pretending to pout as though hurt by this. Yusuke grins goofily as he answers. "No way. That's not possible, Amara!" They both laugh, then after a few seconds she stops and blinks, suddenly getting it. "Hey!" She jabs his shoulder with her fist, nudging him a bit and causing him to fall over again. She laughs, and once he gets up he chuckles a bit himself. They slowly stop after a moment of enjoying the humor shared between them, looking at each other as their laughter slowly fades. They blink in at the same time, then blush slightly and turn their gazes away quickly, also in unison. Unable to stand awkward silences, Amara stands and throws her arms up in the air in excitement. "Come on! I want to see this great arcade of yours!" Yusuke nods and stands up, following her as she waits for him to lead the way.

As they walk out of the school gates together, Amara with her bag casually held in her left hand, and Yusuke with his slung casually over his shoulder, Yusuke was the one to break the silence this time. "…So—" He stops, having been about to ask her about the sudden business that caused her family to move; but he didn't want to ruin what would be their first good time together in years, so he decides to save that for later. He still had to ask her something though, because this time she had heard him and she was now staring at her dark haired friend questioningly. "So, uh, were there any punks where you lived? They didn't give you any trouble? I mean, being a girl and all." Amara blinks, and then glares at him, slightly offended. "Yusuke, are you asking if I was bullied by some stupid thugs, or are you asking if I got any 'practice'? Because I _know_ you're not trying to say I can't handle some brainless apes." Her male friend laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "Yeah, that's what I said! Eh-heh…Practice. I was talking about practicing on the weak ones where you were." She turns her head away from him so he couldn't see the smile on her lips brought on from his silliness. She clears her throat before looking forward again. "Yep, I got plenty. Well, at first anyway. It didn't take long to get all of the 'big ones' out of the way, and after that there wasn't much to practice on, so…" She trails off, and Yusuke waits, but when she doesn't finish he prods her questioningly. "So…?" "Eh, never mind. It's really not that…interesting." She finishes, looking around for a change of subject. "So, how far is this place? I haven't eaten anything since lunch, and if there are any restaurants nearby, I can call this place Paradise." She giggles, and Yusuke laughs a bit. "I don't know about Paradise, but there's a burger place just across the street. And it's not much further. See that light up there?" He points ahead of them as they continue to walk, indicating a traffic light less than a block away. "Yeah…" "Well, it's just past that." "Yes!" Amara cheers, jumping up into the air, and then coming back down and running on ahead. "Come on then! The sooner we get there the better—I gotta eat!" Yusuke laughs, then runs after her, slowing to a walk as soon as he had caught up. "…Hey Amara, you know about me dying, right?" He asks in a hushed voice, looking at the pavement in a serious way. "Yep." She answers casually, causing him to trip and fall to the ground, a sweatdrop forming over his head. She laughs nervously as he leaps up. "How the Hell did you know?" "Keiko told me at lunch! Or weren't you listening?" She flicks his nose gently, then continues watching, sighing quietly. "I swear…you're more air-headed and spacey than I am…" She murmurs, rolling her eyes.

After grabbing a bite to eat from the burger joint across the street from the arcade, Amara and Yusuke pay for their food and head over to the arcade. She was excited, and couldn't wait to see this place that Yusuke always seemed to go to ditch, according to what she heard. Upon stepping through the doors, Amara looks around and smiles, finding something rather familiar about this place. "Hm…nice. It kind of looks like any other arcade though…Why this one?" She turns and looks behind her at Yusuke, but he was gone. "Huh? What?" She looks around, spotting him a few feet away in front of a game with the name "Goblin City" flashing above the machine. "Come on, what's taking you so long?" He calls, laughing childishly. Amara can't help but follow his example, laughing childishly herself. "Coming!" She calls as she runs over to him, dodging slot machines and kids here and there to reach him. He shows her the controls, which combos could launch which attacks, and so on. After only a few minutes she managed to get the hang of it. "Holy crap, Amara!" Yusuke exclaims. "You're doing better at this on your first try than I have with my best score! Are you sure you've never played…?" He gives her a suspicious look and she giggles, knowing what he was doing without even taking her eyes off the screen, able to tell by how he spoke. "I promise I've never played this game before now, Yusuke." He growls and folds his arms across his chest as though pouting. "Not fair!" "Don't be such a whiner, Urameshi." A gruff voice muttered from behind them, causing Amara to jump and almost lose. "Damn! Distracted and still kicking ass!" Yusuke cries, turning to face the newcomer. "So, Kuwabara, what brings you here? I thought you had studying to do." "I do, but my sis let me off the hook just for tonight. Maybe she's dying or something…" Kazuma Kuwabara trails off into muttering, and Yusuke laughs and slaps him on the back roughly. "Well it's good to see you again, man! It's been way too long!" "Ouch!" Kuwabara exclaims as Yusuke pats him on the back, but he soon gets over it and laughs along with his friend. They talk for a moment, but Amara soon lost track as she becomes totally focused on the game, until finally… "Dah! I lost!" She sighs with a bit of relief, then turns to look at the two boys talking to one another. Noticing her fully, Kuwabara frowns at Yusuke. "How rude, Urameshi! You didn't even introduce us. So who's he?" The instant he uttered the word, Amara could have sworn that she had felt a nerve snap, and Yusuke steps back, laughing nervously. "Uh, Kuwabara…Amara is a—" "—girl." Amara interrupts, her expression one of anger and her body absolutely pulsating with the need to injure someone…and that someone might end up being the unlucky red-head before her, Kuwabara. "Oh, I uh, I meant she!" He explains quickly as she pulls her braid around and over her shoulder as proof. She lets out a breath, controlling herself. "…That's alright." "It's just hard to tell with the bad lighting in here, but…whoa, you're really pretty!" Amara blinks and Yusuke almost falls over in a comical manner once more, but quickly straightens himself and gives Kuwabara a good punch in the back of the head. "You idiot, what about Yukina!" "Of course I haven't forgotten my sweet love Yukina! I just said she was pretty, that's all!" Amara sighs and allows her palm to hold her forehead in something of a stupor. "Morons…I'm surrounded by 'em…" She mutters, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara get into (yet another) fistfight over who was "asking for it" the most. After a moment of listening to them barking at each other, Amara finally breaks in. "Are you DONE YET?" They both freeze, then jump apart, grumbling about who started it. "Well tough luck, because I just finished it." Amara says with a scowl, folding her arms across her chest. She glances at them out of the corner of her eye and suddenly slaps her hand over her mouth to contain a sudden fit of giggles that threatened to burst from her mouth. "Y-you…" She couldn't contain it. She bursts into a fit of laughter, and it wasn't long before she was clutching her stomach in pain and wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "You guys…! You look like such idiots!" She continues to giggle a while longer as the two boys stare at each other in confusion. The blonde finally manages to wipe the last tear from her eye and cease her laughter. "Sorry, you just looked so…ha…dumb…" She lets out a final snort of laughter, and then coughs to stop herself from starting all over again. "Anyway, I'm about ready to hit the hay. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She giggles once more as she waves good-bye, then turns and walks out of the arcade. She turns around to stare at the sign now flashing in the twilight, which read, "Arcade", marking it in her memory. She knew the way well enough now to come without needing Yusuke's assistance, so she could surprise him by ditching now and then… She swings her bag casually over her shoulder after a minute or so of walking, staring up at the stars dimly shining just past the final day's rays of sunlight. She smiles softly to herself; she had missed it here, and coming back felt great…Incomplete, but it was better than life had been during her ten-year disappearing act. She lets out a relaxed sigh. "Hey…" She jumps about a foot in the air, surprised, letting out a shrill scream. "YUSUKE, YOU BASTARD, YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUTTA ME!" "Really? Let me check…" He slowly leans back, staring at the seat of her pants. She whirls around and kicks at him, missing on purpose. He sticks his tongue out at her, laughing like a fool, as he dances out of the way of her foot. "Ha-ha! You missed!" She shakes her head as she sighs, but can't help but laugh. "You're such a weirdo, Yusuke…" He grins as he nudges her with his elbow. "Ah, but you like 'em weird, don't you?" Amara blushes, then quickly turns and swings her bag at his head. "Oh, leave me alone!" He ducks and laughs again, then backs up and moves to the other side of her, where she couldn't smack him with her bag without switching hands. "So, where are you living now?" The second his question enters her ears, it felt as though her insides froze and her stomach filled to the breaking point with fluttering butterflies. "I, uh…I live around here…by the school…why?" He shrugs, and then grins at her once more. "I don't know, I was just wondering how far I would have to go to walk you home today." She stops walking and turns to face him, waving her hands in front of his face and shaking her head. "No, you don't have to! I'll be fine! I can get there myself!" He blinks as he stops walking in order to look at her. "Yeah, but I want to. Or don't you want me to walk you home? Besides, I'd like to see your folks again! It's been a while, and I remember that your mom always made the best cookies…" He gets that infamous cheesy grin on his face as he rubs his hands together and then licks his lips. "…" He stops as he realizes something. "Oh, you don't have plans or anything do you?" "Plans?" Amara blinks, and then nods vigorously as she gets an idea. "Yes, yes, I'm afraid we do. Sorry, I guess you can't really stop by tonight. So, um, 'bye!" She calls before taking off towards her house. "Hey, Amara, wait!" He calls. She tries to stop herself in the middle of a step and ends up tripping herself instead, falling with a thud onto the concrete. "Ow…" She mumbles, as Yusuke hurries over to her. Now it was his turn to burst into a fit of laughter. "Now who looks dumb!" He too was soon clutching his sides in pain and wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. Once he recovered himself, he looked up to apologize with that grin…only to find that she was halfway down the street already. "HEY!" He yells, chasing after her. Catching up to her rather quickly, he catches her by the elbow and pulls her gently to a stop. "What, no 'how about Saturday?'?" Amara glances quickly towards the pavement, before she looks at Yusuke again, though she wasn't even making eye contact. "Uh…well…We're…busy the rest of the year! Yeah. That's all; we're busy the rest of the year. Er—sorry." He blinks, his eyes a bit wide. "The REST of the YEAR? Amara, are you serious?" She nods rapidly. "Yes, very busy. So I should go and um…do…stuff…" She turns to go, but he had yet to let go of her arm. "Do you really think I'm that dumb? What's wrong Amara?" She looks up at him quickly, shaking her head. "No, I—" "…Something happened, didn't it…?" She stops, staring at him with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "…" He maintains eye contact for a moment, then slowly drops his gaze to the ground. "…Wow. I thought you knew that you could tell me anything. Hell, I'm the most messed up punk I know! It's not going to phase me, whatever happened." He laughs a bit as he looks at her face again, then stops, realizing that this wasn't the time for his lame jokes. "Amara, just tell me…" He coaxes her gently, slowly releasing his grip on her arm. "…I can't." She responds at length, lowering her own gaze to the concrete sidewalk. She slowly turns to walk home in solitude, clutching her school bag to her chest, keeping her gaze cast to the ground. These plans are delayed however as she feels Yusuke's arms wrap around her shoulders in a strong embrace, and soon after she can feel him hold her close to his warm body. "…Amara…" He murmurs into her ear.

Aaaaaaand…I'm stopping it there for now. I know, sad, sad! So mean of me! Stop whining. NOW. I'll have the next chapter available for your reading pleasure soon enough! Have patience. Or I'll beat you with a banana peel. A rotten one. Ooh, I bet you're scared now! Anyway…I think I'm going to do what my dear friend Orange-sama did and have a preview! Maybe. Next time, but not this time. Sorry! Ah, cruelty is fun…


	3. Reoccurring Dreams

Amara could feel her face growing warm and she knew that she was blushing. Finally, she gently pushes away from the young man holding her warm body against his. "Yusuke…I have to go, it's getting late…" Respecting her wishes, he lets go of her, but by the way he was staring at the ground he seemed…disappointed… But he quickly recovered his usual self and looked up from the ground, smiling in his usual way and rubbing the back of his head while laughing a bit. "You're right. Be careful getting home. Good night!" He calls as he turns and runs in the direction he lived, into the sunset. "Just like a real hero or something…" She whispers to herself as she too makes her way back to her house.

"I'm home!" The blonde teen greets cheerfully as she enters through the front door and removes her shoes. "Welcome home, Amara." The young woman appeared in the hall, smiling happily, glad to see that she got home safely. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm late. I went to this arcade with an old friend of mine. I knew him back when…uh, before I had to move away from here a few years ago." She explains. "And I had dinner too, so don't worry about it." She adds, smiling as she into the hall leading to the staircase. "I think I'm going to do my homework and go to bed. Good night, mom." She waves as she jogs up the stairs and into her room, leaving the ones she referred to as "mom" and "dad" downstairs. As soon as she made it into her room, she closes her door and then lies down on her bed, staring at the ceiling quietly for a few minutes before she finally rolls over and opens her dresser, pulling out her pajamas. "Duh, I wouldn't have homework on my first day. I'll just get to bed earlier then." She murmurs to herself, pulling out something comfortable and changing, then opening her window slightly to allow a breeze to enter her bedroom before she turns out the light and closes her eyes…

The young blonde girl looks around, feeling as light as air, but somehow sluggish. Hadn't she just fallen asleep? She looks down, getting the sensation of floating. "Oh, I am floating…" She says calmly, then moves her body in a more horizontal than vertical position and flaps her arms like a bird trying to fly, moving herself through the air. As she looks around, the area changes from forests and rivers to the city area, where she saw Sarayashiki's Junior and High Schools, then spotted her neighborhood not far from there. She "flies" in that direction, descending towards the ground quickly. "Whoa!" She exclaims before almost crashing into the ground, she covers her eyes to wait for the impact. When she opens them, she finds herself standing in front of Yusuke's house, which was right beside hers and Keiko's was on the other side of his. She looks around slowly and sees three children, each about three years of age, playing in the sand across the street in some park that looked vaguely familiar. She waves, and they all wave back, then she turns around and walks up the sidewalk and to her house. As she opens the door and steps inside, she finds that instead of the front entryway, there was a long, narrow hallway before her, and it seemed to go on forever. She suddenly seemed to be under some sort of trance as she begins to walk endlessly down the hall, her feet making quiet slapping sounds as the movement of her feet pushes her along. She disappeared into darkness, emerging from a shadow somewhere further down the endless maze of halls. She looks from left to right as though in a daze, when the sudden touch of someone's warm arms around her waist causes her to gasp and snap out of the trance. She turns around slowly, as if floating, but she was unable to clearly see the face of the one holding her, though she did notice that they had dark hair, and she knew that it was definitely a boy. Slowly, gently, they push her up against a wall, pressing their body against hers. Her face turns a light shade of crimson as they slowly begin kissing her neck, reaching down and gradually allowing their hand to slowly creep into her pajama top, unbuttoning it slowly. "No…stop…Don't…" She breathes, but they were too strong for her. Slowly, they lift their lips from her neck and bring them closer to her face, this time managing to get closer than the last time. "Don't…Stop, Yu—"

BEEP-BEEP-BEE—She slaps her hand over her alarm clock. Staring sleepily out her curtained window, she watches the rays of sun stream onto her carpet, warming it in that spot. "…I never seem to be able to remember my dreams when I wake up anymore…" She murmurs to herself as she slowly wakes up. Slowly moving her head to look at her alarm clock, she stares at it for a few moments before she even remembered that it was what had awoken her. That was when she finally noticed the time. "AGH! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" She exclaims as she throws off her covers and jumps out of bed, darting into the bathroom and brushing her hair quickly, somehow ridding it completely of tangles in about ten seconds, and then quickly brushes her teeth. She throws her clothes on, making sure that she didn't put anything on backwards this time, then grabs her school bag and dashes downstairs, chugging a glass of orange juice and grabbing a piece of toast and holding it between her teeth. The young woman, who was just hovering about the kitchen, blinks at the young blonde girl, as does the young man sitting at the table. "You're not late this morning, honey. What's the rush?" The pale woman calls to Amara as she puts her shoes on at the door. "I need to, um, talk to someone." She responds, hurriedly opening the door. "See you later!" She calls before closing the door and hurrying off to school, leaving no time for the young woman in the kitchen to inquire anything further of the matter.

Entering the school gates at least ten minutes before the six-minute bell, Amara looks around for her dark-haired male friend, wanting to talk to him about what happened the night before. She leaves her bag by her seat in her classroom, and then walks quickly towards the stairs leading onto the roof, ascending them two at a time. "Yusuke!" She calls as she opens the door, now having plenty of time to get an explanation out of him. "I just wanted to ask you about last night, and tell you that I—Yusuke?" She blinks, looking around, covering the whole roof with her eyes, and even exploring every corner physically. He was definitely nowhere on the roof. She descends the stairs at a bit of a fast pace, wandering the halls and calling his name now and then, ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the upperclassmen, boys in general, and the students wondering why this nice-looking girl was looking for the school's self-proclaimed "#1 Delinquent of Sarayashiki Junior High, and now of Sarayashiki High School." Amara pauses and looks at the ceiling as the six-minute bell sounds, beckoning students to delay their conversations with friends from other classes until lunch time, and to find their classes and talk with friends there until they had to take their seats. Amara sighs, reluctantly admitting defeat, and trudges back to her own homeroom, hoping by some unlikely miracle that he might somehow be there. What remained of her hopes went kaput the instant she walked through the door; her whole class was already there, but no Yusuke to be seen. She sighs and makes her way to her desk, weaving through the groups of friends joking and chatting and gossiping, dropping into her chair as soon as she made it to her desk. She lets out another sigh and folds her arms on the desk before her, resting her forehead on her arms. "What's wrong? Are you wondering about Yusuke?" A gentle, familiar voice asks from her right. "Yeah…" She sits up slowly and nods as she stretches, looking at Keiko like a little lost puppy. At this, Keiko lets out a small giggle, but then sighs herself. "You'll get used to it. Yusuke skips school way too often. I swear he's going to fail! You were just lucky that he was there yesterday and you got to see him. Don't worry," She adds, guessing by the look on Amara's face that her answer hadn't satisfied the anxious blonde. "I don't think he's sick. I really think he just decided to skip school for a day or something. Though I am surprised that he didn't come since you came back and all…" She murmurs, trailing off as the teacher enters the room and some of the class quiets down. She takes her seat beside Amara, and a moment later the teacher asks for everyone to quiet down and take out their textbooks. "If you'll all be so kind as to wait for lunch to continue your conversing, I will begin today's lesson…but first, attendance." He pulls out his attendance booklet and opens to one of the several pages marked with mini sticky-notes. "A-ko?" "Here!" Came an answer from somewhere near the opposite side of the class from Amara and Keiko. "Akiyama?" "Right here." "Eiko?" "Here." "Fuka?" "Me!" "Hazama?" "Yeah." "Izumo?" "Here I am!" "Kaede?" "Over here!" "Kaida?" "Here, sir." "Sakurazuku?" "Present." And so on, until… "Urameshi?" Amara blinks and looks around at the face of each student, not having realized that he was actually in her homeroom. Unfortunately, there was no reply, and she did find that there was in fact an empty desk. "Yusuke Urameshi?" He calls again, slightly louder this time. Still, there was no answer. He sighs. "I'm not too surprised…" He murmurs to himself, and then continues. "Youkohama?" "Here." Amara answers somewhat dully, to Keiko obviously disappointed at the further confirmation of his absence. "Yukimura?" "Oh, here sir." Keiko responds, glancing at Amara as the teacher calls the names of a few more students before closing his attendance book and picking up the teachers' version of their English texts. "All right, now if everyone would please turn to page 17 in your English textbooks, we will begin class." Keiko was first to be called as usual, and Amara just kind of spaced out, hoping that the day would end quickly…

Yusuke ended up skipping the rest of the week, and even though Amara wasn't so sure that he wasn't sick, Keiko assured her that he was fine, just skipping and probably spending time at his favorite hangouts. Once school was over on Friday, Amara quickly grabbed her things and made her way to the school gate, knowing just where to look for her M.I.A. friend. Hurrying past Keiko on her way out of the locker room where everyone kept their shoes, Amara pauses and waits for Keiko to slip off her school shoes before she spoke up. "Hey, let's get together sometime, have a girl's-night-out, ok?" Keiko nods in agreement, smiling. "Sure! Why don't we have a sleep-over at my house tomorrow night?" Amara pumps her fist, grinning with excitement. "Definitely! I'll see you then." She then turns and waves to her friend, running to the gate of the school and joining the other students that were departing for the weekend, saying their good-byes, making last minute plans, and so on. Walking somewhat hurriedly past the students making their way home, to dates, and where ever else they were going, Amara had one destination in mind: the arcade. First though, she decided she would take a slight detour and stop by her house, in order to drop off her school bag, change, and perhaps grab a bite to eat or money to do so while she was out.

Inside her room about 5 minutes or so later, Amara drops her bag on her bed before entering the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She removes her socks, uniform and undergarments, and then turns on the shower. She allows the water a couple of minutes to adjust to the right temperature, then climbs in and sighs. The warm water felt wonderful, and she loved the squeaky-clean feeling she got while she was in the shower, and after getting out. Once she was fully clean, she turns off the water and grabs the towel she had hanging beside the shower/tub, wrapping it around her clean, slightly steaming body. She uses a smaller towel to dry her hair, smiling softly and closing her eyes at the comfort and cleanliness she felt after having had a nice, hot shower. She finishes drying the shining crystals of water from her glistening, wet body, then dries and brushes her hair. Emerging from the steamy bathroom, she grabs a pair of sneakers, a t-shirt, and a pair of denim capris, and then puts on the shirt and capris. The shirt fit closely to her body in order to reveal her upper curves, as well as the curves of her waist, and the capris kind of showed off the shape of her rear. She leaves her hair down, giggling a bit at her reflection in the full length mirror hanging on the outside of her bathroom door. "I look like a girly-girl, don't I…?" She stares for a few more seconds before letting out a sigh and throwing off her shirt and capris, pulling a regular t-shirt and denim shorts on instead. Grabbing her sneakers, she hurries downstairs, hopping down the steps, smiling and humming to herself. "I'll be back in a couple of hours!" She calls, opening the door after slipping her shoes on and grabbing a small bag, which she slung over her shoulder. "All right, be safe!" The pale, young-looking man calls with a chuckle. Amara giggles. "I will be." She responds, closing the door behind her.

She allows the movement of her feet to carry her to the end of the walkway leading to the sidewalk in front of her house. By now the sun was slowly beginning to set, and the shadows cast by structures and plants and such were growing longer. Just after passing under the shadow of a tall tree in her front yard, she pauses, staring blankly, but surprised, ahead. She could have sworn she had done the same thing before… "It must be da ja vu." She thinks to herself, trying to convince herself that she was only imagining the strange feeling she had just experienced. She continues on her way, humming as she walked down the street and towards her destination, forgetting all about what had just happened, letting it fade from her thoughts.

I know, I know. Boring. So sue me! Don't worry, the next one will be better…at least I think so. Have fun waiting! I might even wait until the school year ends in about a week on the 26th before I post the next chapter. Well, hasta la bye-bye! I mean, au revior…I mean! Good-bye! For now! Tomadachis. oo


	4. A Painful Past

The doors of the arcade slide open automatically as the dark haired high school boy steps on the rug just before the doors of the exit. Turning to his left in order to head home, Yusuke slips his hands into his pockets and begins down the street carried by a casual stride. "Hey, did you have fun?" Yusuke leaps into the air as his body spasms, giving his surprise away. "Jeez, Amara! You scared the crap out of me!" The young fair-haired girl laughs softly as she walks a few feet from the wall she had been leaning against in order to stand beside him and walk with him once he continued. "Sorry, but the temptation was just too much." She lets out another laugh, then stops and becomes slightly more serious, but not much. "Hey, why haven't you been at school? I needed to talk to you, but for _some_ reason you didn't show up at school for four days." Yusuke sticks his tongue out at her teasingly. "Maybe I just felt like skipping. School's dumb anyway, so why does it matter?" He begins to walk slowly, allowing her to follow before taking up his casual gait again. Amara shrugs her shoulders a little, shaking her head as she follows him. "I don't know. I can see what you mean, I just…well, I wanted to talk was all. Besides, why you didn't show up at school wasn't the point of my question, and you know that!" She scowls at him, swinging her bag as though meaning to hit him, but swinging it slowly so she wouldn't; he ducked anyway, of course. Pulling down the lower lid of his right eye, he sticks his tongue out at her once more as she misses, even though he was aware of the fact that she meant to. "Yeah, yeah, I know." They walk in silence for a moment before her impatience forces her to break it. "So? Are you going to give me a straight answer, or what?" "…Nah." Yusuke answers at length. Amara's eye twitches slightly and a vein pops out of her head, showing her anger as she brings her elbow down on the top of his head, knocking him forward and onto the pavement. "OUCH!" He exclaims after his face slammed into the concrete. "You jerk!" She responds to his exclamation of pain, the vein, or anger cross, still visible, though smaller. "Maybe violence wouldn't be necessary if you would just give me the damn answer!" As he gets up again, he too had a vein visible on his head. "Maybe I'm not giving you the damn answer because I don't want to answer your damn question!" They were now both facing each other, breathing heavily from the yelling and the beating and being beaten, both of the high schoolers with their fists clenched. After a moment of trying to stare one another down, they sigh in unison and get out of each other's faces, turning away from each other slightly and folding their arms across their chests as though mirroring one another. "…Sorry for hitting you." Amara mutters, uncrossing her arms and slowly turning to look at him as he turned to look at her. "Yeah," he mutters in response, sighing once again. "Sorry for yelling and stuff." He unfolds his arms as well, but looks away from her, as though too embarrassed to make direct eye contact. She watches him out of the corner of her eye for a moment, and then drops her bag and steps forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. This caused Yusuke's eyes to widen, and for him to stumble back in surprise, stumbling backwards into a somewhat dark alleyway, which he didn't notice until a moment later. Looking around a little to make sure no one was watching or could see them, he slowly wraps his arms around her waist, his eyelids lowering so that they were no longer wide. "…Yusuke?" She murmurs at length, turning her head so that it was resting against his chest, and over the sound of the people milling about on the street here and there she could hear his heart beating somewhat rapidly against her cheek and in her ear. "Hm?" She closes her eyes for a few seconds in order to think about what to say, then slowly opens them and stares at the darkened brick wall of the building to her left that served as one wall of the alley, without really noticing. "…A few nights ago…why did you…well, you know…?" She trails off, her cheeks turning a light shade of crimson. "…" Yusuke was quiet for a while, something unusual for him, and Amara began to wonder if he had heard her or not. Finally, he answered though. "I guess I thought if I, uh, tried to comfort you or whatever, you might tell me." He nods, and she blinks, then lets out a quiet sigh and slides her arms from around his neck. He releases her rather quickly, following her as she walks over and picks up her bag from off the ground. "That sounds like you all right: always the romantic one." She mutters sarcastically, causing Yusuke to let out an obnoxious laugh. "Yep! That's why the women adore me! Oh yeah, I just can't keep 'em off of me!" He lets out another obnoxious laugh, this time causing her to laugh as well. "You're such a loser." She giggles, shoving him playfully, causing him to laugh along with her. They continue to laugh for a while, not even noticing the people walking past them, nor the looks Amara was getting from one guy or another here or there—they were either staring because of how pretty she was, or perhaps because natural blondes were not too common in Japan. Without paying much attention to where they were heading, Amara and Yusuke wound up walking to a park that they and Keiko had always used to play at when they were younger. They both stop at the gated entrance leading inside, blinking at the fact that their subconscious had brought them there, but neither had noticed. She realized that this might be the best place to talk though, so without a second thought nor a moment's hesitation, Amara grabs Yusuke by the wrist and pulls him inside, leading him through the gates and up a grassy hill that overlooked the sand box they played in as toddlers, and the playground they used to run around and climb on during the years before Amara had to suddenly move. Allowing herself to carefully fall backwards and lie down in the grass, Amara smiles widely as she lands, gazing up at the fiery sky given its colors by the setting sun. Yusuke watches her, then grins as he sits down beside her, poking her side, something he remembered doing in their earlier years; as he had expected, it had the same affect. Amara sits up suddenly, "eeping" as she clutches her side to protect it from any more of his attacks. But Yusuke simply reaches around to the other side, causing her to roll over onto that side in order to protect it as well. Smirking in a mischievous manner, Yusuke continues pinching her sides in different spots, sending her into a fit of laughter, which he soon joined in on himself due to the look on her face. Finally laughing too hard to keep up his assault, Yusuke stops and just laughs along with her, as she continued laughing simply because she couldn't stop herself. Several moments later, they finally began to calm down, slowing their laughter to an occasional giggle, until they at last stopped altogether. Able to sit up at last, Amara uses her arms to support her, stiffening them to hold herself up. She looks to her left, watching as a gentle breeze passes them and then carries itself to the small "tunnel" of sakura, or cherry trees, that she was watching the sun's rays dance through the branches of. She smiles softly, feeling quite nostalgic all of a sudden. "Yusuke, you remember playing down there on the playground and all, right? Don't you remember watching these trees grow to the way they are now? I mean, when we were little, we always thought that this was the hill we would climb when we were older since it was too big for us then. We promised each other…you, me, and Keiko…that we would." Yusuke thinks for a minute, and then laughs with a child-like joy as he remembers. "Hey, yeah! I remember how Keiko stood there watching us because she knew the hill was too big for us, but I was so stubborn…I knew I could do it! But I was never actually able to…" He laughs, and she laughs with him. He looks at her and smiles, then continues. "I remember that I tried and every single time I came rolling back down…" This causes Amara to giggle, and he chuckled a bit. Looking down the hill as though watching this memory, he seemed to become just as nostalgic for a moment. "…You tried too. You said that we could do it if we both tried, but we still couldn't…but you tried too. Why?" Amara lowers herself back slowly onto the grass, folding her arms behind her head and watching the clouds roll by lazily in the dimming daylight. "…I don't know. I guess I just didn't want you to feel like a total idiot." He laughs at her answer, and she looks over at him before laughing as well. She stops suddenly and sits up, watching as a single cherry blossom petal floats towards them, then gently lowers itself into the palm of her hand. Noticing this, Yusuke stops laughing as well, and once it had settled completely in the palm of her hand, she gently closes her fingers over it and looks over at him slowly, more serious now. "…When did you and Keiko sit up here together for the first time? I mean, since I was gone and all, you guys must have had to come here without me." She smiles a bit, but only someone as clueless as Yusuke seemed to be wouldn't notice that her smile was fake. He had noticed though, but he knew saying something would upset her, and that was not something he wanted to do. He could only answer her honestly and not try avoiding the question anymore. Besides, if either of them hid anything else from one another, they would probably burst, so it was nearly impossible to lie or keep secrets anymore. "We didn't, actually." He answers, turning to watch the sun set at last just as she was. The conversation continued only after the sun was gone and the stars had come out, as though not only they, but the whole world as well, was on pause. "Come on, don't give me that. What really happened?" She shoves him playfully, but he just holds his hands up as though in defense. "I mean it! We never came here without you…I mean sure, after you left we came and played here now and then, on the swings and everything, but we never did come up here…We were still friends, but it was like things changed or something after you left. Keiko started getting straight A's and awards for brains and all, and I became the—" "—self-proclaimed 'number one delinquent of Sarayashiki Junior High and now High school,' right?" She interjects, laughing once she was finished reciting what she'd heard like she was reading it from a book. "Yeah, yeah, you laugh now…but you ask any punk that's crossed me if they'd do it again and unless they're _really_ stupid, they wouldn't even need to think before they said 'no'!" He scowls as though she had offended him, but couldn't keep a straight face as she let out a snort of laughter and they once again began to laugh together. Calming down once more, Amara looks at the stars for a moment, then down at the ground. "…Just friends?" Yusuke blinks, momentarily confused and not sure what or who she was talking about. "You and Keiko. After I left…were you really just 'friends'?" Her hair was falling slightly over her shoulder, and her bangs covered her eyes, casting a dark shadow over her eyes in the twilight. Yusuke blinks again, tilting his head slightly to one side. "What are you talking about, Amara? Yeah, we were friends…" Amara sighs quietly, the shadow still covering her pretty, deep blue eyes. "I mean, you two seemed to get along really well and all, so I thought that maybe once I had left and was out of the way for a while, that maybe you and Keiko…" She trails off, lowering her head towards the ground a little bit. Finally Yusuke was pretty sure he knew what she meant, and when it dawned on him he sat up straight and his eyebrows rose. "Whoa, no. I mean, yeah, for a while I thought I liked her, but…we agreed that it was just a crush. I think she likes some guy on the student council now anyway." Amara lifts her head a little, causing the shadow to fade and disappear. She blinks once, turning her head to her right in order to look at him. "Oh…You two just seemed so—" "Nope." Yusuke assures her, smiling in his childish, goofy way. She couldn't help but to smile as well, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment as she stands up slowly. "I guess I jumped to conclusions…sorry to drag that out of you. I wasn't jealous or anything, just curious." She adds, smiling at him. He nods, waving his hand as if dismissing the mere thought, standing up as well, not really thinking about what she was doing, just readying himself to follow her if she wanted to walk around. "I know. It does happen to the best of us though. And you didn't drag anything out of me. We're best friends, aren't we? I mean, the three of us were back then and everything." She nods, smiling, and slowly begins to walk towards the cherry blossom trees, walking into the "tunnel" the branches and blossoms created. "So," he says after a few moments of quiet, bringing her out of her thoughts with a questioning look. "What about you? Do you like anyone?" She blinks and stops a few trees into the tunnel, thinking it was an odd question for a guy to ask. "I don't know." She answers after a while, still a little bit stunned. "Do you?" She asks rather slyly, even smiling slyly at him, only meaning to tease him. She didn't expect him to take it seriously, but that's just what he did. He watches her for a moment, and it seemed to her like he was thinking about how to answer, and indeed he was, but she was in no way expecting what happened over the course of the next few moments. He moves towards her with little to no sound, causing her to instinctively take a few small steps back; he continues towards her, and when she tries to take at least three more steps back, she is stopped before the second step by the pale trunk of one of the sakura trees. Amara now had her back against it, and this seemed to be just what Yusuke wanted. He places his right hand on the smooth bark, just over her left shoulder, and then very gently places his left hand under her chin. His touch was gentler than she expected, and much, much more gentle than anyone who didn't know him like she or Keiko did would think he was even capable of. Bending his elbows, he slowly lowers himself closer to her, and after what felt like an eternity to her, Amara could feel his warm body pressed against hers, and just after that she felt his lips brush past her own. He now had her pinned, but she had become relaxed by now. Her eyes were closed gently, and he had closed his by now as well. Slowly, he removes his hand from under her chin, making certain that she wasn't going to move before he finally slides his hand over her soft, silky-smooth skin, allowing his fingers, then his palm, to travel slowly along the right side of her face, first trailing along her jaw, then finally his hand paused on her cheek for a moment, gently stroking the soft flesh of the side of her face, resting his hand against her cheek for a moment. The whole time he continued brushing his lips back and forth across hers gently, giving her a tiny taste and almost teasing her, before finally his hand continued and reached the place he wanted it to be. He begins to carefully, gently run the fingers of his left hand through her hair, playing with her straight, blonde locks while making sure not to tangle them together. At last, as he rubs his thumb slowly over her ear, he presses his lips gently against her own, leaving them there for only a few seconds before moving his head back no more than an inch. But his lips did not leave hers for long. He was no longer taunting her as much as he was himself, only allowing him to taste her lips for a little while before moving his head back and keeping his lips from her soft pink lips; but he couldn't keep himself from tasting for long. Now and then he would open his eyes to gaze at her, but his desire would only allow it for a second. She on the other hand was tormenting herself with keeping her eyes shut, waiting for him to kiss her so that she could taste his lips, wondering how long he would keep them from her before he kissed her again and allowed her to feel their lips touch. At last he couldn't keep his rather greedy instincts from taking over. While his left hand continued to run his fingers through her silky hair, his right hand, which had formerly been against the tree now slowly fell and landed on her shoulder, holding her against the tree with that hand. A bit surprised at his assertiveness, Amara opens her eyes and glances at the shoulder being held to the tree, then at Yusuke as she puts her hands on his arms in a half-hearted attempt to push him off of her. "Yusuke, what—?" She wasn't given the chance to finish, because he was hardly listening anymore. He presses his lips to hers somewhat roughly, at the same time reaching down and back in order to grab her wrists. Gripping her wrists firmly but gently, he holds them against the tree, pressing his body against hers to allow her to feel more of his warmth, but also pinning her against the tree with little means of escaping or even moving. Her lips were parted slightly since he had kissed her while she had been in the middle of a sentence, giving him the perfect opportunity. Without removing his lips from hers, for by doing so he would risk losing his chance, he slowly slips his tongue forward, running it along her bottom lip, then her upper teeth, then at last slipping it into her warm mouth, causing her face to blush an even deeper crimson then it already was. Once she got over the initial shock, she allows him to continue, relaxing and making it a bit easier for him to experience the pleasure he had longed to find in her for a long time. He gently caresses the tip of her tongue with his own, then at last pulls his face and lips back from hers slowly, almost reluctant to stop. "Yusuke, I—" She begins, but he quickly releases her left wrist and places his fingertip against her lips. "Shh…" He whispers, and then leans in and kisses the left side of her jawbone gently, sending mild chills down her spine. "I need to ask you something, Amara…" He whispers softly into her ear, releasing her wrist and instead slipping his arms past her elbows, wrapping them around her waist and holding her close. She closes her eyes, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Y…yes?" She murmurs, thinking that she was ready for anything by now. But she wasn't. "…Why did you really have to move? I want the truth…Whatever happened, you can tell me. I mean, if you had moved I know you could have at least said good-bye." He could feel Amara's body tense in his arms, so he held her closer to him, not wanting her to run, or push him away. Her eyes had opened by now, and as she speaks, her voice gave away her nervousness. "No, m-my dad's boss insisted that we leave right away. There…there was no time to say good-byes; just pack up and go, that was the only option." "Don't lie to me, Amara! Whatever happened, you need to stop running from it." She closes her eyes tightly, clutching his shirt tightly as she tries to get him to release his grip on her. "No, I'm not—let go!" "Stop trying to run away! Stop trying to run from me!" "Let me go!" She cries, trying as hard as she can to push him away from her so she could run somewhere…anywhere; so she could just get away from the memories—the "things"—he was trying to bring back to the surface. She felt that she had to escape from the "things" emerging from the shadows of her thoughts, squeezing and crawling from the dark crevices of her mind. "Amara, I'm right here! Just tell me what happened. I'm here for you!" She was shaking by now with the effort necessary to keep from thinking of the past she wanted to forget. But she had begun to falter, and slowly she was calming down, focusing on nothing but his warmth. "No…!" She whimpers quietly, gradually losing the battle. "Amara…" Finally, she stops struggling, but her hands, her body, were still shaking. Yusuke waits patiently for a few moments, giving her time to tell him, knowing that if he rushed her she would only panic or become too stressed, and that could be harmful to her, something he did not want. He simply waited, holding her in his arms with the hopes that she would be comforted and perhaps stop shaking. "…The house I lived in before I moved…" She begins quietly, her voice and body still quivering. "It…it caught on fire. A few of the 'servants' working for my parents were trapped inside, and were later found dead from smoke inhalation…" She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and leave her mind blank while she spoke, knowing that if she thought about it she would only cry and feel weak and vulnerable again. "My nanny got me out safely, but she said that she hadn't been able to find my parents. She said they were sure to be safe though; after all, they were my parents…Heh…" She lets out a small laugh, remembering what a handful she was when she was younger, but how her nanny still cared for her. Without her noticing, her eyes had begun brimming with tears, and her pitiful laugh caused one of them to fall from her eye and roll down her cheek, stopping as it caught in Yusuke's shirt. As he felt the dampness against his skin, his eyes widened a bit, and he then squeezed her gently, resting his lips against the top of her head. "Amara…" He begins, but she shakes her head, knowing that since she had started, she had to finish. "I never saw them again…My nanny was the one who identified their bodies once they had been dug up from the charred, smoldering remains of my house…of my home…" They were silent for a while, and the only sounds heard were those of the wind pushing through the trees and the quiet sound of her muffled sobs as she buries her face in his chest and he holds her close to him. He could think of nothing to say that would comfort her, and even if he could he was speechless. He felt guilty now, horrible and cruel for having forced her to tell him what had happened to her and her family. If she hadn't had her arms around him and she hadn't been hugging him so tightly, he would have left with the thought that she didn't need someone like him holding her and comforting her. But she did want him with her, and she did want him to hold her and comfort her, protecting her from complete misery and devastation, so he could do nothing more for her except hold her in his arms and hope that she would be all right. He could do nothing more than wish that she would stop hurting, and that he would be able to see her cheerful smile again. After several moments of quiet and allowing herself to calm down, Amara lifts her face a little, beginning to wipe at her eyes with her sleeve. Wanting to feel that he was doing _something_ for her, Yusuke stops her by grabbing her wrist gently, moving her hand away slowly so that he could touch her face gently. He slides his thumbs slowly across her cheeks, wiping her tears away for her. "…I'm sorry you had to see me like that, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you before—" He stops her by once more putting his finger to her lips. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I never should have forced you to talk about something that you didn't want to talk about…I shouldn't have pushed you into it. I'm sorry…" Amara shakes her head slowly, looking up into his eyes and smiling softly. "It's all right. I actually feel a bit better now that I don't have to hide it from you anymore…" She murmurs, trailing off slightly at the end of what she was saying, closing her eyes as he slowly lowers his face to hers after having lifted her chin gently. He carefully presses his lips to hers, knowing that actions really would speak louder than words right now. After about a minute, he slowly pulls away, and both adolescents slowly open their eyes to look at one another. "Come on, I'll walk you home." Yusuke whispers into her ear, wrapping his arms around her as he spoke, then slipping his arm around her waist and gently leading her down the hill and out of the park once she had given her consent with a nod.

A couple of houses away from her own, the two friends stop and turn to face each other, neither certain of what to do now. "…Um, should I walk you to the door?" Yusuke asks awkwardly, causing Amara to smile. "No, I'm sure I can manage walking a few more feet." She giggles, and he laughs a bit, but they soon fade into another silence. After several seconds, Amara breaks that silence, smiling up at him. "Well…good night!" She says cheerfully, leaning forward and kissing him gently on the cheek, and then turns in order to walk the rest of the way to her house as she waves to him. Before she could leave, Yusuke reaches out and grabs her wrist, pulling her into a tight embrace. Still holding her right wrist in his left hand, he places his other around her waist, holding her lower body against his. "You missed. This is how you say good night…" He murmurs, before pressing against her soft lips with his. He pulls away only after he was sure that he would remember the way her lips felt against his own until he saw her again. "Good night." He whispers, and as she felt his warm breath against her ear, she could feel chills traveling up and down her spine. Yusuke slowly lets her go, then takes a step back before running in the direction of his own house, leaving her standing there, watching his form fade into the darkening night. "…Good night, Yusuke." She whispers aloud, before turning around and walking quickly in the direction of her house, blushing gently at the memory of the evening. She could still feel the touch of his lips against hers.

All right, now, I did say I would start having previews of the following chapters, so here's the preview for the next one. Ahem.

Next time, on Unbalanced Kisses!

"No, huh?" She asks quietly, though it was really as though she was answering for him. "No. And I looked everywhere!" Now she sounded worried. "Maybe I should come over tomorrow and we can search together." Yusuke shakes his head. "No, you can't miss school. You're the straight-A student remember? Missing a day would count as something, and nothing good. Don't worry about it. Get some sleep. I know a few more places and I'll check them tomorrow. Keiko, I'm sure she's fine." He adds, almost able to _feel_ her tension and worry over the phone. "This is Amara we're talking about. She can handle anything." "I know…but I'm worried. Why would Amara just vanish all of a sudden?"


	5. Lost in Memories

Monday morning at around 9:15, Yusuke was awoken by the sound of his cellular phone ringing.

(Yes, Yusuke got a cell phone—because I say he did.)

He grumbles some incoherent statement about how "dumb school days" shouldn't even be there to bother people or something along those lines, until he remembered—he usually skipped anyway. Reaching into his school bag, which rested against the wall, right beside his bed, he pulls out his cell and answers it with a groggy, "Hello?"

"Yusuke?" He recognized the voice right away. "What, Keiko? I'm trying to sleep. I'm tired, so don't count on me being there. Just tell that idiot of a teacher to go ahead and count me absent." He heard Keiko sigh on the other end. "No, Yusuke…I'm calling because Amara and I were supposed to have an overnight on Saturday."

"Well that's great, I'm so glad I was woken up for that wonderful news." He responds sarcastically as he falls backwards onto his mattress, but he could tell that she sounded worried, and that made him a little anxious. "Yusuke, that's not the point. She never showed up. I called her house, but nobody answered. I tried her cell phone, but it was turned off. I'm kind of worried—I mean, Amara would call if she wasn't going to show up, no matter what the reason, right?" Yusuke was quiet for a little while, thinking. "Well…maybe she got sick and didn't want to be bothered, and she didn't call because she was resting all weekend." He suggests, really hoping deep down that it was nothing more than that. Of course it was nothing more. Keiko let out a breath, not seeming satisfied with the idea. "I guess so…" She says hesitantly. It was Yusuke's turn to sigh, doing so as he sat up. "Why don't you just come out and say it? You think she's missing. I'll tell you what: give me some more time to sleep and as soon as I'm ready I'll go over to her place and see what I can find out."

"Oh, Yusuke, thank you so much!" Keiko exclaims, obviously relieved. Yusuke could hear the bell in the background, indicating that the next period was beginning at school. "Call me when you know something! 'Bye!" She says hurriedly before hanging up the phone. Yusuke scowls and hangs up as well, but he didn't go back to sleep as he said he was going to. He stares out the small window above his head for about a minute, then stands up and gets dressed.

About fifteen minutes after getting off the phone with Keiko, Yusuke stood outside Amara's house, staring at the slightly darkened windows. He then continues on his way to the front door, knocking loudly so that someone might hear. "Hello?" He calls, after no one answered the door. Opening it slowly, he looks around inside, but where there would normally be at least one pair of shoes in the entryway, there was none. "Um, hey, I'm coming in…" He calls again, removing his shoes before stepping up one step and entering the hall. Looking around, he listens carefully for any sound, but the house was completely silent. He thought it was empty too, before a pale young woman came _floating_ down the stairs. She stares at Yusuke for a moment, blinks, and then waves her hand back and forth. He blinks as well, and then waves back hesitantly. "…? You can see me?" She asks, now just a couple of feet in front of him. "Um, yeah, should I not?" He watches as she circles him, when he suddenly noticed that she didn't seem to be walking, and her movements flowed way too much for her to be anything except… "You're not a ghost, are you?" He asks, and by now she had stopped circling and was standing in front of him. "Yes, I am. That's why I was surprised. Amara has been the only one able to see my husband and I for many years." Yusuke laughs a bit. "Heh. Yeah, well, imagine my surprise seeing a ghost coming down my friend's staircase. I thought for a second I had the wrong house." The young woman laughs softly, then smiles gently at him. "Oh, but I assume you came here to see Amara. I'm sorry, but she's not here." Yusuke glances around a little, getting a good look at Amara's house. "I heard…do you know where she is then?" The pale woman shakes her head. "I'm sorry, no. She left early Saturday morning, and all she told my husband and I was that she needed to go somewhere to get away for a little while. That's all." Yusuke was thoughtful for a little while, and noting his silence the young woman murmured an apology.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I think I know where she might be. Hey, I'll see you around then." She nods and smiles, then waves. "Good bye for now. I hope to see you again some time."

"You bet!" Yusuke responds, smiling before he slips his shoes on and makes his exit.

Yusuke spent the rest of the day looking in all the places he thought Amara might be, but with no luck. He had looked in the arcade, at the park—looking everywhere—and even the school, but still he had seen no sign of her. He was sitting in his room wracking his brain for ideas, when his cell phone rang for the second time that day. "Did you find anything out?" It was Keiko, sounding anxiously excited about getting news about her friend. Yusuke was a bit hesitant with his answer, already giving the bad news away without even saying anything. "No, huh?" She asks quietly, though it was really as though she was answering for him. "No. And I looked everywhere!" Now she sounded worried. "Maybe I should come over tomorrow and we can search together." Yusuke shakes his head. "No, you can't miss school. You're the straight-A student remember? Missing a day would count as something, and nothing good. Don't worry about it. Get some sleep. I know a few more places and I'll check them tomorrow. Keiko, I'm sure she's fine." He adds, almost able to _feel_ her tension and worry over the phone. "This is Amara we're talking about. She can handle anything."

"I know…but I'm worried. Why would Amara just vanish all of a sudden?" Keiko murmurs, growing more worried by the minute. Yusuke didn't know how to answer her question, so he just pretends as though he hadn't heard her by trying something that he knew would calm her down. "I promise to have her call you once I find her tomorrow, ok? Now go to sleep." Yusuke says confidently, sounding sure for her and himself that he was going to find her. He heard a sigh on the other end, but it was as though he could see her nodding. "Ok. Good night, Yusuke." With that, they hang up, and Yusuke tosses his phone on the carpet before allowing himself to fall backwards on the bed. He had been lying about having ideas of where she could be—he was clueless. No, that wasn't accurate. He did have a few clues. Staring at the ceiling in silence, he became very deep in thought, trying to remember everything Amara and the woman at her house had said. "…'Go somewhere to get away for a little while.'…The fire…" He murmurs aloud, trying as hard as he could to think of something. After a few minutes he groans, unable to think of anything. "Damn!" He growls, closing his eyes to try to rest his thoughts for a little while…

Suddenly, it clicked. He knew where she was. Yusuke's eyes fly open and he sits up straight, jumping off of his bed. He runs for the door, grabbing his key and shoving it in his pocket, tugging on his shoes while still trying to move his feet. Once he had them on, he turns around and closes the door, locks it, then dashes as fast as he could in the direction of the only place she could have gone.

Bwahaha! Ugh, damn. I just realized how short my chapters have been, but if I went on any further, they would be too long! Ah well, cest la ve (such is life). I've already typed out the next chapter or two, so I should have that up not long after this one. Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I was so busy with school, finals, and so on, trying to get my grades up, that I really just didn't have time. So, I'm sorry, everyone! I 3 you guys!

Next time, on Unbalanced Kisses…

He quickly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her from the door, covering her mouth with his free hand to stifle the scream she had been about to release.

"Don't bother. So far from what you call 'civilization', who do you think could possibly hear you? You would only be wasting what precious breath you have in those delicate human lungs of yours." With her hopes of her cries for help being heard shot, he lets a low chuckle escape him as he proceeds to pull her further from the door.

(Uh-oh! I guess you'd better keep reading if you want to find out what happens! )


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